Perfectly Imperfect
by bodysurfer27
Summary: After the battle with Uma at Cotillion, Jay finds himself staring at the Isle of the Lost in the distance. So caught up in his memories, he doesn't notice Lonnie walk up to stand beside him. What starts out as a friendly conversation may end up becoming something neither of them expected.


**A/N:** **This is my first attempt at a Jay/Lonnie story. This was co-written with pinksakura271.**

 **pinksakura271: Thank you for asking me to write this and for constantly challenging me as a writer. You keep pushing me to write for pairings I never thought I'd write for and bettering my writing because of it. You are a very talented person and I enjoy working with you to make your beautiful stories a reality.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own _Descendants_ , Disney, Melissa De la Cruz or her _Isle of the Lost_ trilogy. None of the characters/settings/ideas/storylines are mine.**

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The dark water sparkled like onyx underneath the bright light of the moon. Waves lapped along the side of the boat, the sea foam kissing the royal inscriptions. A lone figure studied the onyx waves, having never seen the ocean water black as the night sky of the Isle of the Lost.

He swallowed back the memories, slightly shivering. The light breeze caressed the water droplets that lingered on his face. The battle with Uma had been nasty and viscous; just like the sea witch herself. Thankfully, the turquoise captain had fled...taking refuge under the darkness of the water.

All that was left to remind him of the battle had been puddles of water scattered around the deck. Again he swallowed.

Part of him feared the idea of being on a boat. The _Lost Revenge_ held no fond memories. Nor did it actually sail the coast of the Isle. It remained docked in the same spot since it harbored there on the Isle twenty years ago.

Watching the water started to make his throat close. Rocking from side to side twisted his stomach uncomfortably and he grimaced when bile rose to the back of his throat. His skin became stifled under the leather jacket Evie made for him to wear. But taking it off was not an option. The Auradonian air around them and the coldness of the ocean water on his face sent a chill down his spine.

He tore his eyes from the sparkling sea before turning his eyes to the menacing shadow in the distance, highlighted by the thin silver light of the barrier. Staring at the Isle didn't settle his stomach, but it did give his mind a break from the pirate ship and the rocking sensation of the boat that churned his stomach and caused bile to rise in his throat.

It did, however, clear his mind.

His skin no longer prickled with heat. His throat opened up. And he sighed deeply, his mind wandering from the pirate ship to the events of last night and earlier this morning.

Noise from the party faded away the longer he stared at the Isle. Instead, the celebration morphed into clanging metal. Light-hearted laughter shifted into menacing chuckles. Shrieks of delight were replaced with screams of pain.

So wrapped up in his memories, he did not hear or see a shadow sidle up beside him. It wasn't until the faint flicker of a black sphere shaped object came barreling at his face did he snap out of his thoughts. Isle reflex had his fingers curling around a fisted hand. He twisted the hand down and to side while he brought his other up to his chest in a defensive manner. A bolt of electricity shocked his spine and brought the familiar buzzing of a fight to run through his veins. Breathing heavily through his noise and with adrenaline coursing through him, his head jerked to his attacker's face.

Wide, concerned almond shaped eyes-the color of a rich chocolate fountain (his favorite thing about Auradon)-stared straight into his. Her dark mahogany hair was pulled back into a bun at the top of her head. A pink and blue dress with white accents and flowers (an Evie original he vaguely recalled noticing on a rack in Evie's dorm room the last time he had been in there) highlighted her slim athletic physique.

He immediately let go of her fist and dropped both of his hands back into the railing of the boat. Ashamed and embarrassed, his eyes shifted back to stare at the Isle once again. He cleared his throat, though his cheeks felt warmer than usual. This stupid boat was messing with his head.

"Sorry, Lonnie. Thought you were someone else." His feeble attempt at lying caused a look of confusion to cross her face. "So, what's up?"

"You were really thinking hard. If you're that distracted, I could have stolen something from you." She giggled teasingly but her small tight lipped smile sunk into a frown the longer he refused to look at her. "Hey, don't use all of your brain. Whatever isn't permanently sealed on the Tourney field, you need it for class."

His lips twitched, though his mouth seemed set into a grimace. His fingers tightened their hold on the railing and Lonnie swallowed, unused to the strange awkward silence surrounding the older Isle boy. Eager to get him to say something-anything was better than nothing at this point-she blurted out whatever popped into her head first.

"Hey Jay..." She waited until he made any type of response to continue.

"Hmmm?" He replied. She exhaled softly in relief. At least she had his attention.

"Thanks for letting come to the Isle with you. I understand I guess what I first asked you all back when. The 'even villains love their kids' thing. I got to see how life on the Isle was like for you. All of you growing up in a place so cold and wet and abandoned." She shivered at the memory of vandalized alleys and broken cobblestones and dilapidated buildings she wasn't even sure how they could be still standing after all this time. "And I really am sorry about Chad. He can be such a jerk sometimes."

"It's okay. We found a loophole, right? Villains are good at doing stuff like that." Again, his lips twitched yet remained in a grimace.

Lonnie's heart broke in her chest. Her stomach sank and she couldn't help but reach out to place her hand on his shoulder. His body tensed and he shied away from the contact at first, however he relaxed under her gentle touch.

"I don't think of you as a villain, Jay. You did what you had to do to survive that awful place. And after witnessing the Isle firsthand, I'd say you're even better than most of the people at Auradon Prep. You're kind and funny and loyal...even when going back to the Isle you still managed to make me smile with your dumb jokes."

"My jokes are not dumb." His lips slowly rose into the ghost of a small smile. Her heart began to beat faster when she noticed his grip relaxing on the railing.

"No, you're right. They're horrible."

"Now you're just being mean." He rolled his eyes with a small smile. His eyes appeared lighter and less troubled, she observed, than they were a few seconds ago. "And you were the one who blackmailed me and Carlos, remember? I mean, you said you tell FG on us about Ben and stuff if you didn't tag along."

"The way I remember...you guys were the ones slinking around in the middle of the night hiding a replica of Fairy Godmother's Wand behind your back. For being such a notorious thief, you really made yourself obvious. It basically was your fault you got caught." He laughed, a sound that finally eased the knot twisting in Lonnie's stomach. A smile lit up her face at the noise and she could breathe a little easier.

"Yeah, well, next time I'll make sure the Waffle House needs fencing swords."

"They won't."

"They might. Gotta cut up all that food somehow, right?" She smiled and shook her head at his ridiculousness before her smile faltered.

His mouth settled back into a frown and that troubled gleam returned to his eyes. His eyebrows were drawn together as he struggled to think of how to phrase the words in his head. Sensing he wanted to speak, Lonnie kept quiet as he gathered his thoughts.

"You know...being there on the Isle...it reminded me of just how bad my life was. I thrived on the thrill of a fight...I stole from everyone and everything...I only had to look out for myself." Concern clouded her eyes as he struggled to find the right words. He exhaled shakily before resuming. "And Auradon...everything here was weird-still is weird sometimes...but here everyone looks out for each other. And when I...when we went back to the Isle...it wasn't just me I was looking out for against the Wharf Rats. Mal and Evie and Carlos were the first people to see past the stealing and the fighting and who my dad is. They were the first people to treat me like I mattered for just being me. They're like...my family. So of course I had to look out for them...for their safety. Mal can hold her own in a fight. Evie too for the most part. And even Carlos knows how to get out of a sticky situation. But with Ben...and you..."

"You were worried about me?" She breathed out in awe. No one in Auradon looked out for Lonnie's safety. No one had a reason to. Her parents saved China for Hades sake. Lonnie grew up a warrior and a fighter. But to hear Jay confess something so personal...her heart actually melted and her expression softened into something more tender.

"When you put it like that." He made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. "I'm not good with...this." He moved his head side to side uncomfortably. "Feelings or whatever. But you proved you could hold your own against the pirates and it was weird not having to step in and protect you." He rushed out awkwardly, slightly coughing at the end of his sentence. "But I'm glad you came with us. There's no way the five of us would've been able to take down Uma's crew without you."

"Are you thanking me?"

"I guess I am." His eyes flickered from the Isle to gauge her reaction briefly before his doe brown orbs returned to the black shadow looming in the distance.

Her lips parted however she found herself unable to speak. A warm fuzzy feeling blossomed in her chest. Her head began to spin as she processed everything that just happened.

A loud cheering behind them startled her, her hand moving from his shoulder to his bicep. She snapped her head to the side. Ben and Mal were dancing in the center of the boat. Each time Ben twirled her, Mal's purple dress whooshed around her like one of those princess shows Lonnie used to watch as a kid. Mal truly looked like a princess tonight.

"If you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do was ask." His breath fanned her ear. That deep sultry voice seemed even lower than normal. She shivered and her head turned to see his beautiful brown eyes only centimeters away from hers. She swallowed out of reflex.

"I..." It was usual for Lonnie to become flustered. Yet here she was, unable to remember to breathe because she was too busy counting the faint freckles dusting his cheeks or studying his eyes (a deep chestnut with honey golden flecks around the iris) or trying to distract her mind from the fact his tantalizing lips were literally so close to hers all she had to do was lean in just a smidge and...

"What do you want from me, Lonnie?" She licked her lips unintentionally, tearing her gaze away from his lips to notice his eyes had moved to follow the tip of her tongue as it traced the outline of her bubblegum pink lips.

"You promised me a dance. Back at practice." She swallowed again, her breathless voice causing her to mentally scold herself at the idea of acting like a ditzy airheaded princess. However, he chuckled and she stumbled backwards when he took a step forward.

Was he leaning in closer? When did her hand move from his arm to hold his hand? When did his arm move to hook around her waist?!

"I guess I did." He chuckled, his warm breath causing her eyes to blink and their moment to shatter.

And suddenly he was standing in his previous position, however their hands were still entwined and he had an expectant look on his face.

"Shall we?" He raised their hands, lightly brushing his lips across the smooth skin of the back of her hand in a princely fashion.

Her heart pounding in her chest, she fixed him with a level gaze and a smirk on her lips. She used her free hand to hold the side of her dress up so the layers of fabric wouldn't get caught in her heels.

"We shall." She gave him a small nod and allowed him to walk her towards the makeshift dance floor in the center of the boat. Students and teachers alike stood in a loud cheering circle. Jay had to budge his way through the crowd.

"You know, the Isle was kinda fun." She raised her voice to be heard over the various cheers of their classmates. He threw her a look of confusion from over his shoulder as he used his body to push them closer to the dance floor.

""Fun? Are you sure your an Auradonian? You have a bit of villain kid in you." He flashed her his signature smirk, that for whatever reason, created an intense heat to flood her cheeks and her still rapidly beating heart to race faster than before. "We'll have to see just how wicked you can be." At that, Lonnie smiled. Her blush only intensified as he flicked his wrist as she came twirling into his chest. He caught her hand in his own effortlessly and much too gentle to be humanly possible. "I promised you a dance. Let's see if you can keep up."

She threw her head back and laughed while he swayed them side to side on the deck of the boat, the light of the moon and the glow of the enchanted fairy lights above them providing a memory Lonnie would cherish forever. The night Jay waltzed her around their friends, twirled her into his chest, leaned his head down, and kissed her started something magical he didn't know they could have.


End file.
